Of Opera Masks and Lightsabers
by Xanatos' Lady Morwen
Summary: Pretend for a moment that Erik really lived. When he died, he left something behind, something two women need. Phantom of the OperaJedi Apprentice.


Pretend for a moment that Erik really lived. When he died, he left something behind, something two women need.

When Xanatos tries to commits suicide, he's shoved into the basement of the 2005/2006 Paris Opera House. Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon must follow him. Problem? They don't know he's still alive! When they land in the middle of Morwen and Arielle's apartment, nobody has any clue why they're there.

Meanwhile, a gang has given both young women three months to pay back a debt Arielle owes them. They are both working hard, but it's not enough. So Morwen has begun secretly looking for the Phantom's original _Don Juan Triumphant_. But when she runs into Xanatos, will he help her or keep her away?

Arielle is a bar maid who dreams of singing in the Opera House. Morwen is a janitor in the Opera House, and writes mysteries based on her daily life. Both of them know that their lives depend on finding _Don Juan._ But what price must they pay to find it?

The bold is taken directly from _Jedi Apprentice: The Day of Reckoning_ by Jude Watson. I don't own any Jedi or _Phantom of the Opera_ characters. I do own Arielle and Morwen, plus minor characters.

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**Of Opera Masks And Lightsabers  
by Morwen Death.**

**Chapter One: Underground**

**Xanatos stood at the edge of the water behind him. He had no hope of escape. He was surrounded, and there was nowhere to run to. His gaze traveled from Den to Andra to Obi-Wan, finally resting on Qui-Gon. The depths of his hatred turned his gaze as black and foul as the steaming pool.**

**"You will never have the satisfaction of killing me, Qui-Gon Jinn," he said softly. "And I will never submit to anyone's laws. Your hate drove you, though you won't admit it. You destroyed me because you could not save me. I am your biggest failure. Live with that. And live with this."**

**"No!" Qui-Gon cried, starting forward.**

**But he was too late. With a cruel smile that stretched his lips over his teeth like an animal, Xanatos took two steps backward and leaped into the boiling black pool.**

He had expected pain; he had expected to die. What he hadn't expected was the _fear._ It clawed at him, clutching him as he felt the acid-water eating away at his face, his body, the way that the Dark side had ate away at him all his life. He suddenly had an overpowering desire to touch the Light side again, just once, before the acid took his life. He reached for the Force as he felt strips of his flesh disappear to the acid.

Suddenly, everything around him was eerily frozen as a white light enveloped his body completely, soothing his heart and lessening the sting of his wounds. Strange sensations passed over him, seeming to last for eternity, and then only seconds. Every emotion he'd ever experienced -hate and joy, love and sorrow- passed through him in that Time Outside of Time. He felt himself raising with the light, with the emotions.

His head broke the surface of a dark, underground lake. The white light gathered into a small, bright light that shone above his head, allowing him to see. His feet touched slopping ground, and he could feel half of his left foot was missing. Reluctantly, dreading what he'd see and yet excited by a morbid curiosity, he raised his hands in front of him to see the damage the acid had done.

Sickened, he quickly turned away. Anger swelled up in him. Where was he? Had he been saved only so that he could spend the rest of his life as a freak, a monster! Why couldn't have just died back in the acid pool?

Above him a little ways was a sort of beach, made of both sand and pebbles. Farther up on this stood a house. The light moved ahead of him toward this, and he could feel the Force tugging at him, insisting that he follow the light. He ignored it, turning instead toward the deeper water. But his feet wouldn't obey him; instead, they carried him up to the beach, then turned toward the house.

The light went before him, and as he opened the door the light entered ahead of him and settled inside an old, dusty lamp, which looked as though it hadn't been used in hundreds of years. Xanatos closed the door behind him, his insides numb. The sight of the light, of the heat, drew him like a moth to a candle, and he no longer thought of committing suicide. He no longer thought of any thing. He sank down on the floor and stared numbly at the candle, not caring where he was or what happened to him now.

**Meanwhile**

Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi made their way patiently towards their quarters on the large spaceliner. It'd been a little over a week since Xanatos' death, and now they were traveling back to the Jedi Temple. A serene silence had laid between them since they'd boarded; both were basking in the warmth of their restored friendship.

"When we are settled in, perhaps we can find something to amuse us on one of the holo decks," Qui-Gon said.

He'd remembered that Obi-Wan hadn't gotten to explore the _Leviathan_ when they had traveled to Telos. He'd purposely booked passage on a luxury liner headed back to Coruscant so that his unofficial Padawan could relax and could have a little fun before he returned to being on probation.

"I would enjoy that very much, Master Jinn," Obi-Wan said, grinning. His youthful joy showed in his sparkling eyes even as he spoke the formal words.

Qui-Gon smiled. "No need for formality until we return to the Jedi Temple," he chided gently.

"Thanks, Qui-Gon," Obi-Wan said.

Reaching their door, Qui-Gon pressed his hand against the pad by the door. To lower the risk of theft, the spaceliner they were traveling on had hand-print sensitive locks. The wookie at the desk had keyed in the Jedi's hand prints when they registered for the room.

The door slid open and Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan stepped through. Instantly, they were enveloped in pure light.

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AN: I have no clue how often I will update this. Review if you want, but this will be a very slow story.  



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